NikithaPrint | Kindle
I had great expectations from the book when I picked it up. It came up in many book recommendations and it was one of the famous books on the subject of decluttering. But I was disappointed. I finished the book in one night as there was not really any engaging content. The author goes on and on about her obsession for tidying up and how she chose a profession which involves that and helps clients tidy up without a rebound. She randomly quotes examples of different clients and their clutter. Then she ends the book saying there are no real rules except for deciding for yourself what you really need. The book and her profession looked like works on only one principle of the nudge a person needs to clean up. She doesn’t talk anywhere about how to prevent the new things from piling up after the clutter is cleared to prevent the rebound she keeps mentioning in the book.
The best thing I like about the book is the author asks you to visualize how you want the house to be and then start discarding everything which doesn’t bring you any joy.
Notes
Mistakes in tidying up
- Tidying up by location instead of category
- Sending the clutter to parents
- Keep things “just because”
- Folding seems like extra work because you will wear it again
Tips
- Designate a spot for every category in the house
- The proper order is to place the clothes that are lighter in colour at the front and gradually progress to darker colours at the back
- Fold each piece of clothing into a simple rectangle
- Use photos, posters and ornaments to decorate the inside of cupboards
- No music while cleaning up the house
- Easy first and difficult ones last
- If you feel someone else is untidy check yourself first
- Visit model homes, ideal lifestyle
- Hanging takes up more space than folding
Other benefits
- People lost weight after letting go off the clutter
Food for thought
- Letting go is even more important than adding
- We attend seminars because we feel the passion of teacher and experience the learning environment
- When we fold we should put heart into it and thank clothes for protecting our bodies
- What you wear in the house impacts your self image
- An attachment to past or anxiety about the future
Further reading
- Learn more about Feng shui
- The art of discarding by Nagisa Tatsumi
Happy Tidying up!